When designing a building for a place as blessed with stunning views as southern France, it's important that the structure complement - and not detract from - the existing landscape. h2o architects successfully achieved this understated aesthetic with a wooden cabin built for Domaine la Cabotte’s hillside vineyard. The small building is clad in locally sourced wood cultivated from the forests of nearby Savoie, and it frames views of the vineyards and Mont Ventoux.

Built to combine three main functions, the small 625 square foot wooden cabin accommodates a wine-tasting service area, reception area, and office space. These three areas were combined to create a Y-shaped plan, with each branch housing a different function. The unusual plan and elevated location offered the architects the chance to maximize views towards the vineyards in multiple directions.

Inside, the walls, ceilings, and floorboards are painted bone-white to create the illusion of spaciousness. Furniture, such as the wine rack and taste testing picnic table, offer light wooden accents in the otherwise all-white, open plan rooms. To mitigate the uneven slope, the architects added footings on the edges of two of the three wooden volumes.